Photographer and illustrator Peter DeVito's work celebrates those with all different kinds of skin. He's best known for his close-up, unretouched shots of people with acne along with powerful statements about self-acceptance ("Acne is normal," "retouch," etc.) temporarily tattooed across their faces.
"The whole point of me posting is to help empower other people," he told ELLE. "I'm hoping that people will just start to learn to accept themselves more and not compare themselves to what other people look like."
Among DeVito's subjects is Cool Teen™ Leia Immanuel, who's amassed a whopping 94,000-plus Instagram followers thanks to her very good looks, very impressive streetwear collection and very artful, acne-embracing selfies.
Leave it to Tavi Gevinson, actress and OG Cool Teen™ (at 15, she founded socially conscious teen magazine "Rookie") to reference contemporary Japanese art in a post about pimple cream.
18-year-old Hailey Wait first developed acne seven years ago. Seven months ago, she decided to stop hiding behind products and filters and reveal her real skin to her 15,000 Instagram followers. She now has 154,000 followers. The lesson here is pretty obvious.
From acne-positive beauty guru Kali Kushner (of My Face Story), a final reminder that acne is by no means a life-ruiner: "It does not define who you are unless you let it." Learn what triggers your breakouts, follow a self-care routine tailored to your specific needs and remember that so-called "flaws" are just human qualities — and the words of the almighty Bieber.
